Natural Hazards Under the Spotlight

Dunedin, 18 June 2014 – How Dunedin
manages natural hazards such as landslides, flooding, storm
surge and sea level rise is soon to be discussed with
residents.

The Dunedin City Council is preparing a new
District Plan, the second generation District Plan (2GP).
The ultimate goal of the Plan is the sustainable management
of Dunedin’s natural and physical resources.

Under the
Resource Management Act, the DCC is responsible for managing
land use to avoid or mitigate the effects of natural
hazards. The DCC is also required to consider the effects of
climate change and keep a record of natural hazards.

DCC
City Development Policy Planner Sally Dicey says a technical
assessment of the risks has been prepared by the Otago
Regional Council and DCC staff have used this to develop a
proposed approach for managing land use and development in
at-risk areas. This approach, or preferred option, would see
natural hazards managed through a set of hazard overlay
zones.

The hazard overlays would set out what activities
and development would be permitted, the standards for some
types of development, what may be assessed on a case-by-case
basis through resource consent, and what would only be
allowed in exceptional circumstances or would be prohibited.
Approximately 8600 of Dunedin’s about 46,600 houses in
residential zones are affected in one way or another by the
proposed overlay zones.

DCC Planning and Regulatory
Committee Chair Cr David Benson-Pope says this is an
important opportunity for those affected and the wider
community to have input into the process and the Council
wants to hear people’s views before any decisions are
made.

“Local knowledge is very valuable in refining the
extent of areas at risk from hazards and feedback from our
community will be used to refine and improve the maps. We
also want to hear from the community whether our approach
has found the right balance between enabling people to use
their property and our responsibility to protect people and
property from risk.”

Ms Dicey says the DCC’s preferred
approach to managing risks from hazards is based on
considering the overall risk, in terms of frequency and
effect.

For example, in high risk areas, building a new
house, commercial accommodation, an early childhood centre
or a retirement village would be considered a non-complying
activity.

In moderate risk areas, these activities would
require resource consent.

In lower risk areas, these same
activities would be permitted, but with development
standards, such as requiring a house to have a set minimum
floor level, or to be relocatable.

Across all these risk
areas, less sensitive activities such as farming and
recreation activities would be permitted.

Different areas
have different levels of risk depending on factors such as
topography, or how close they are to waterways and flood
protection works.

Ms Dicey says, “It’s important to
remember the proposed changes mainly affect new development.
In general, existing activities will carry on as
usual.”

The key priorities for the DCC
are:• Protecting people• Maintaining key
infrastructure needed for the health and safety of the
community, such as wastewater treatment
systems• Minimising the risk to property

Hazard
overlay zones are proposed for floodplains, low-lying
coastal communities and hills prone to landslides. This
includes areas such as Brighton, Karitane, Macandrew Bay,
Waikouaiti, Waitati and parts of the Taieri Plain.

In
terms of the harbourside and south city area, the 2GP
preferred option is to manage risks through the underlying
zone of the area, rather than through a hazard overlay zone.
This is because the area exposed to natural hazards is large
and highly developed.

The major issues for this area are
caused by the area being low lying and having a high water
table. The challenges created by these issues may worsen
over time due to climate change.

Public consultation on
the preferred option for managing the natural hazard risks
runs from 24 June to 1 August. As part of the consultation
process, 11 presentations will be held around the wider city
so staff can explain the risks and the proposed hazard
overlay zones answer questions and receive feedback.

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